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PHILADELPHIA

Pennsylvania . USA

System & History
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has some 5 million inhabitants in the metropolitan area and is situated half way between New York and Washington. Philadelphia boasts one of America's most diversified urban rail networks, with subway, elevated, trams on the surface and in tunnel, as well as an extensive suburban railway system. Except for the PATCO Line, all lines are operated by SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority).
[L] Market-Frankford Line
More photos	- 20.8 km (5.8 km underground through city centre) - 28 stations - between 15th St (City Hall loop) and 30th St the tunnel has 4 tracks, the outer tracks being used by the trolleys coming from the western part of town. - 1588 mm gauge - 3rd rail (600 V) - platform length 106 m 1907: 69th St- 15th St (elevated from 69th St to approx. 23rd St) 1908: 15th St - 2nd St (underground) + elevated spur to South Street (ferry pier) 1922: 2nd St - Frankford (Bridge-Pratt) (elevated) 1939: South Street spur closed 1955: 40th St - 22nd St relocated underground
[B] Broad Street Line & Broad-Ridge Spur
More photos	Broad Street Line - 16.2 km (all underground except Fern Rock station) - 22 stations Broad-Ridge Spur - 2.3 km - 3 stations (underground) - Between Olney and Walnut-Locust 4 tracks: 2 local and 2 express tracks. - Trains serving the Broad-Ridge Spur also stop at Girard, North Philadelphia, Erie and Olney (and Fern Rock during peak hours). - 1435 mm gauge - 3rd rail (600 V) - platform length 168 m 1928: Olney – City Hall 1930: City Hall – Lombard-South 1932: 8th St – Girard (Broad-Ridge Spur) 1938: Lombard-South – Snyder 1953: 8th St – 15th/16th St (Locust Street Subway) 1956: Olney – Fern Rock 1973: Snyder – Pattison (now NRG)
PATCO (Lindenwold - Camden) Linee
More photos	The PATCO (Port Authority Transit Corporation) Line links Philadelphia with Camden and Lindenwold in New Jersey. The PATCO Line runs underground from its Philadelphia terminus as 15th/16th St on Locust Street to a point past 8th St, then crosses the Delaware River on the lower deck of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, before returning underground through Camden town centre. The southern leg lies on an embankment with elevated stations from Ferry Avenue to Lindenwold (except for Haddonfield station, which is in an open cutting). - 23.3 km (4.6 km underground, 3.7 km elevated) - 13 stations - 1435 mm gauge - 3rd rail (685 V) - 125 m island platforms - average station distance 1790 m - operates all around the clock 1936: 8th - Camden Broadway (former Bridge Line) 1953: 8th - 15th/16th (together with Broad-Ridge Spur) 1969: Broadway (now Walter Rand Transportation Center) - Lindenwold 1969: 15th/16th - Broadway converted
[M] Norristown High-Speed Line
	Route 100 is a 21.6 km light rail line, which starts at the western terminus of the Market-Frankford Line at 69th Street Terminal and serves the western suburbs and Norristown. This line is totally segregated from other traffic and uses 3rd rail power supply. Stations have high platforms, but at some stops these are just long enough for boarding at the front door. A 7 km branch is planned to serve King of Prussia [Project Website].
[T] Subway-Surface Trolleys
More photos	The Market Street trolley tunnel was built together with the Market-Frankford Line and is served by a total of five streetcar (trolley) lines, which run mostly on-street through the western parts of Philadelphia. West of 30th Street station, the trolley tunnel diverges from the Subway towards the south. There is a separate tunnel portal at 36th Street used by line 10 to Overbrook only, while lines 11 (Darby), 13 (Yeadon), 34 (Angora) and 36 (Eastwick) continue underground to the 40th Street portal. At Juniper/13th Street, the trolleys turn around in a loop that burrows beneath the Market-Frankford Line tracks. - 3.8 km (40th St - 13th St) - 8 underground stops 1907: 22nd St - 15th St 1955: 22nd St - 36St/40th St Portals
[D] Media - Sharon Hill Line
	(formerly known as) Red Arrow Lines, or routes 101 to Media and 102 to Sharon Hill, are two trolley lines which run mostly on a separate right-of-way, and partly on-street (especially line 101 on its last stretch through Media). The two routes share the first 3.4 km along Garrett Road to Drexel Hill Junction, from where line 101 continues for approx. 10 km to Media, and line 102 for 5 km to Sharon Hill.
[G] Route 15 Trolley
	Trolley Line #15 After the last conventional streetcar lines had closed in 1992, the 13.7 km route 15, which runs along Girard Avenue, was re-opened in 2005 and operated with modernised PCC cars before operation ceased on 25 Jan 2020; the line eventually resumed service with PCC cars on 16 June 2024.
Suburban Rail
	The regional rail system in Philadelphia is truly unique by North-American standards. It features a central city tunnel with all the regional routes going through the city center instead of the typical terminal stations like New York Grand Central and Washington Union Station), and is completely electrified. Some 50 Regional Rail stations lie within the Philadelphia city boundaries. Market East station was renamed Jefferson station in Sept 2014. View a track map of the 30th Street junction (main tracks only; without rapid transit tracks) created by Yuri Popov.